Forgotten bayou pathway re-emerges
Sierra Club, volunteers clear spot hidden in Lower 9th Ward
Sunday, September 30, 2007
By Molly Reid
Staff writer The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, LA
A half-mile into the Lower 9th Ward, a curious pathway interrupts the monotony of the levee running along the north side of Florida Avenue, opposite the still-deserted neighborhood's scattered, grass-choked houses.
A stone-lined path, 4 feet wide and paved with roof shingles, leads from the street to a rickety ladder leaning against the levee's metal sheet pilings.
On the other side of the levee is a bank of stones overlooking Bayou Bienvenue, which is really a tranquil swamp bounded by marsh grasses and levees for the Industrial Canal and the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet.
On Saturday, a group of volunteers from local and national Sierra Club chapters gathered at the site to clear away brush and fill in holes in the path leading to the bayou.
Once a thriving cypress habitat where residents could come to fish, crab and canoe, Bayou Bienvenue today is dotted with the remains of cypress trees killed by saltwater, both from Hurricane Betsy inundation more than 40 years ago and from seepage from MR-GO.
Hidden from view by the sheet pilings and inaccessible without the pathway and ladder, Bayou Bienvenue has been largely forgotten, said Steven Ringo, who grew up in the neighborhood and works with the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association.
"You have a whole generation who grew up and did not know it was here," he said, looking out over the water. "You have a hard time getting people to leave once they get back there."
Ringo and the other volunteers were working on the pathway as part of the environmental organization's celebration of National Public Lands Day.
The club chose Bayou Bienvenue as one of 23 sites nationwide to work on Saturday because of the prominence it has gained among residents and in rebuilding plans post-Katrina, said Darryl Malek-Wiley, Louisiana environmental justice director for the Sierra Club.
The path was originally built by a group of students from the University of Colorado Denver's landscape architecture program who were working with the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association in early 2006. Common Ground Collective later widened and paved it using discarded roof shingles.
Despite its modest appearance, the project spawned plans for a waterfront recreation area to connect the neighborhood with nature and help generate economic activity, Malek-Wiley said.
The Colorado students drew up plans for a platform and dock, as well as a jogging path along the levee, and the vision soon became a top priority among residents and community leaders during the citywide recovery planning process. It ranked third in the neighborhood's prioritized list of projects, Malek-Wiley said.
"It is already a strong community asset," he said. "What's exciting about working with folks from the Lower 9th Ward. They've got a vision for making things better, and this is part of that vision."
The Sierra Club and Holy Cross have been speaking with the Sewerage & Water Board, which has a treatment plant at the bayou's southeastern corner, about implementing a wetlands restoration program using treated wastewater. Malek-Wiley said treated water has been found to promote healthy vegetation when dumped into wetlands areas. The long-term goal would be to see tall, living cypress trees in the bayou in 30 to 50 years.
Malek-Wiley said the Holy Cross group and the Sierra Club hope to use the revitalized chunk of waterfront not only for recreation but also for environmental education. Long-term plans include constructing a small classroom building and using the railroad tracks running along the levee and a diesel-powered, self-propelled railcar to shuttle visitors from the French Quarter to the site.
"It's ecotourism, and it can be historical tourism," Malek-Wiley said, referring to the Chalmette Battlefield, part of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, that sits further down the railroad tracks and could also benefit from a passenger train.
While a rail car and a permanent environmental classroom are long-term goals, work on the dock and platform is under way. The University of Colorado team raised money to finance its construction, said Malek-Wiley, who did not know the cost. The structure is being prefabricated in Colorado and will be brought to New Orleans in October for assembly, he said.
The project is still in its early phases, though, as seen in Saturday's event. Volunteers cleared out brush, weed-whacked and filled potholes with gravel -- small steps when placed in the context of the surrounding devastation.
Karis Campbell of Los Angeles joined the team with a co-worker while in town to assist with production of the TV series "K-Ville."
"Not living in Louisiana, most of the news is not great," she said, hoeing a stubborn clump of roots. "But everything I've seen today is hopeful, and that's really inspiring."
Molly Reid can be reached at mreid@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3448.